Chapter 15 Chapter Fourteen Fortress

Aballister leaned back in his chair, exhausted from the attack magic.He turned on Cadderly with all his strength, delivering a barrage of relentless blows toward the mountain region.The magician did smile for a long while, as he wondered what Cadderly - if the boy was, improbably, still alive - might be thinking right now. Aballister felt a tug, a poke in his heart.He knew it was Druzil, because he was waiting for the imp to return.The mage's smile turned into a public laugh—what would the imp, who had been so close to Night's Blaze then, think of him now?Eager to know the answer, he let the little devil enter his heart.

Hello, dear Druzil.Aballister said. Bennett Taylor Mara! Aballister laughed happily.My dear Druzil, he teleported after a while, what happened? The imp erupted in a barrage of yells, curses, and exasperated protests at Aballister - and the multitude of wizards he belonged to.Druzil was swept to the brink of the great storm Aballister had created, battered by a hailstorm, and nearly scorched alive by a bolt of lightning. Now, this cold and miserable little devil only wants to go back to Sany City.You can come out and get me, Druzil asked telepathically. I don't have the strength to do that, Aballister replied predictably.Because you let Cadderly escape, I was forced to take care of this myself.Besides, I have preparations ahead of me, just in case any of Cadderly or his stupid friends survive.

"Banne Thelemara," the frustrated imp whispered.Now Druzil believed it needed Aballister, so it carefully erected barriers, letting only nonoffensive thoughts through, lest the magician hear its insults. If Cadderly does arrive, I'd be better off with you, Druzil replied, trying to find an argument to change the stubborn magician's mind.The mighty Aballister could magically teleport himself to Druzil, capture the imp, and return safely to the Wall of Trinity together in just two minutes. I've told you I'm tired, Aballister's indifferent thoughts came back—and Druzil understood that Aballister was punishing it on purpose.Is it better to have you with me?the magician mocked.I sent you to do one of the most important tasks, and you failed?In my opinion, I was far better off facing Cadderly alone than with an unreliable and troublesome little devil by my side.I don't yet know what happened to lead to the destruction of that evil spirit, Druzil, but if I find out that you had anything to do with it, I won't spare you.

It's your son that matters, Druzil's thoughts roared back. The imp felt a wave of psychic energy with no particular focus, a deep rage so intense that Aballister didn't even take time to form words clearly.Druzil knew that by bringing up Cadderly again as Aballister's own son, it poked at Aballister's sore spot, even though Aballister had apparently taken care of the issue. To find the bodies of Cadderly and his friends, Aballister replied.Then you walk back to meet me, or flap your weak wings when the wind blows!I will treat you no more, Druzil.Watch out for the next storm I send into the mountains!

With that, Aballister immediately cut off the communication, leaving Druzil frozen in the snow to ponder the magician's last words. To tell the truth, the imp resented these nonsensical accusations, and Aballister's constant threats.It has to admit, however, that they carry some weight.Druzil found it hard to believe that Aballister would wreak havoc on Everglade Peak and the surrounding area.But Druzil was cold and miserable now, deep in the frigid mountains, and constantly having to shake off the snow that was rapidly accumulating on its leathery wings. It certainly didn't like being here, but in a way Druzil was relieved that Aballister had refused its request to be taken back.If the young priest did somehow escape Aballister's wrath—and Druzil didn't think that was an impossibility—then Druzil would have rather Standing far away when facing his son.Druzil once fought a mind battle with Cadderly, and was completely defeated in the end.The imp had also fought and lost that Danica woman—not even its poison had any effect on her.As long as the young priest was involved, Druzil's various tricks always failed quickly.

The price of going back is too high. But these mountains are pretty damned!Druzil came from the lower planes, a dark area of ​​mostly black flame and smoke.It didn't like the cold, or the wet feel of those damned snowflakes, or the sun's glare on the angular white surfaces of the hillsides, stinging its sensitive eyes.But it has to go forward, and in the end it has to go back, to face its wizard master. to the end. Druzil liked the undertones of the idea.It brushed the snow off its wings, gave it a lazy pat, and lifted itself into the air.It decided at once that finding Cadderly and his friends would be a fool's errand, so it turned away from the tangle of misaligned snow that surrounded Night Blazing Peak.And it didn't head north in the direction of Sany Walled City.Druzil headed east, the shortest route out of the Snowflake Mountains, and the one that would take it to the farming and pastoral areas around Cala Radon.

※※※ "Get your defenses ready," Dorigen said once she entered Aballister's room.It was beyond his expectation that she would come in, and she didn't even hear him when she entered the room. "What did you find?" the weary magician said angrily. "Cadderly is alive!" "Did you see him?" snapped Aballister, rising quickly from his chair, his black eyes sparkling with anger, alive again. "No." Dorigen lied. "But there is still a barrier blocking my scrying magic. The young priest is still alive and well." Contrary to what Dorigen had expected, Aballister's response was a burst of laughter.He patted the handle of the chair with one hand, almost fainting from laughter.Then he looked at his colleague, and the look of disbelief on her face was filled with many questions.

"This kid makes things so much more interesting!" the old magician told her. "I haven't faced this kind of challenge in decades!" Dorigen thought he was almost crazy.You've never faced a challenge like this before, and she wanted to yell at the man, but she kept the dangerous thought to herself. "We have to be prepared," she said calmly again. "Cadderly is still alive, and the reason he escaped your magic attack is probably because he is much closer than we thought." Aballister seemed to wake up immediately, turned his back to Dorigen, tapped his bony fingertips in front of him. "It was your detection magic that led me to attack Yezhi Peak." He reminded her deliberately.

"Drusil is more of a guide than I am." She corrected him quickly, genuinely afraid of being held accountable for anything, because Aballister's mood was both unpredictable and extremely dangerous. She noticed that Aballister nodded slightly in agreement, and was relieved. "Get ready..." she began to say a third time, but the magician turned suddenly, and the scowl on his face prevented her from uttering another word. "Oh, we should prepare!" Aballister hissed through clenched teeth. "Cadderly will wish he died in a storm!" "I'll order the soldiers," Dorigen said, then turned and headed for the door.

"No!" The word stopped the woman halfway.She turned her head slowly, looking over Aballister's shoulder. "It's a personal vendetta," Aballister explained, and he directed Dorigen's puzzled gaze across the room, onto a swirling ball of smoke on the far wall that led to Able Entrance to Lister's hyperspace residence. "You don't need soldiers to do this." ※※※ From a height they looked down upon the new battlements, and a tower that stood alone.From the outside, even with the newly completed buildings, the Trinity Walled City does not seem to be very outstanding, or very difficult to attack.Vander, who had seen the network of tunnels beneath jagged rock ridges, assured them otherwise.Now, with the colder winters, construction of the new walls has been slow, but there are still a fair number of guards—mostly humans—who follow established routes, rubbing their hands against the icy breeze.

"That's the main entrance," Vander explained, pointing to the center of the nearest wall.A huge oak door, clad in iron, was set deep in the stone wall, surrounded by walkways, parapets, and numerous soldiers. "Behind the door is a cave entrance, blocked by a portcullis door, and a second similar door. We'll find well-armed and well-trained guards all along the way." "Bah, we're not going in through the front door!" Ivan protested, and this time, the yellow-bearded dwarf found that his complaint had several supporters.Danica agrees, reminding everyone that their only chance of success is to sneak in, and Xuelin even suggests that they should perhaps go in right behind the Carladon army. Cadderly was barely listening to what they were saying, trying to think of some sort of spell that would let them in, but that wouldn't take too much of his still rather limited energy.His friends remain fairly optimistic that he can handle the situation.Cadderly was glad they had faith in him; he only wished he felt the same way.When they left the cave that morning, the sky was clear blue and clear, and Ivan taunted the storm that hit the Everglades, calling it a simple trick of a magician, and berating Aballister for failing to aim . "The first rule of casting magic!" roared the dwarf, "just hit the damn target!" "Ooh!" Pikel agreed happily, and even the green-bearded dwarf murmured a contemptuous "hee hee hee" a little later. Cadderly knew the situation better than them, and he understood that the magician's incredible magic had already shown a considerable degree of strength.The young priest still believed he was on the right path of the god Denir, but the sight of Aballister's rage, so violently attacked that the mountains bowed, lingered in his mind all morning. He shook his head away from these unpleasant thoughts, trying to focus on the situation at hand. "Is there another way to get in?" he heard Danica ask. "At the base of the tower," Vander replied. "Aballister took us... the Mask of Night and walked that way in, through a smaller, less guarded door. The magician didn't want his ordinary soldiers to know that he hired killers." "Too much open space," Danica commented.The tower was erected at a distance behind two nearly finished vertical walls, and while the tower itself was clearly not yet finished, it was a good thirty feet high, with a ring of makeshift battlements at the top.Even if the group could manage to get past the guards on the nearest wall, a few archers on the tower would give them a hard time. "What trick do you have to keep them from chasing us as we run past?" Ivan asked Cadderly, slapping the young priest roughly on the shoulder, keeping him from contemplating any longer. "The shortest path is under the ridge on the right," he reasoned. "But then we'd have to run up the hill, and there would be a lot of holes in the defense. I think we should go left, down the rocky ridge and around the lower wall." "There are guards on that wall," Ivan argued. Cadderly's smile ended the debate. For the next hour, the group of companions spent most of their time climbing roundabout to a commanding point on a rocky ridge, some distance above Trinity Walled City.From this new perspective, near the side of the largest wall in the front, they could see dozens of soldiers, including huge hairy bear goblins, ten-foot ogres, and even a giant.Cadderly knew this would be quite a test—a test of the trust of these friends in him, and of his own abilities.If they were intercepted by that difficult group of troops before they entered the back door, everything would be over. The tower was a good thirty yards behind the front wall, and a good forty yards from the outermost edge of the other vertical wall, which they had to skirt.Ivan shook his hairy head; Pikel added a few "oh"s now and then, showing that even the most stalwart dwarves in the party didn't think the idea would work. But Cadderly remained stubborn and fearless, the smile on his face undiminished. "The first wave of flame barrage will alert them—the second wave, should send them running to where they think we're approaching the wall," he explained. The others looked at each other in bewilderment and doubt.Most of the eyes of the crowd were focused on Xuelin's quiver and the small crossbow beside Cadderly. "At my signal, when the third wave of flames hits the front wall, we'll head for the tower," Cadderly continued. "You lead the sprint," he said to Danica. Danica smiled, although she had no idea what the young priest was referring to as a "bullet screen," because she was glad that Cadderly hadn't shielded her specifically, and that the situation clearly required each of them to perform a specific task. , Dangerous tasks, and try to protect her.Danica knew that in this land of Faerûn, not many men would allow their beloved women to rush into danger first, and it was Cadderly's unspoken trust and respect for her that made her love her so deeply. he. "If the archers above spot us," Cadderly continued, targeting Shaileen this time, "you'll need to stop them." "What's a barrage?" Xuelin demanded, impatient with the vague riddles. "What flame barrage?" Cadderly didn't answer, for his mind was far away, deep in the concentration of his magic.After a while, he was chanting, singing softly, while his friends crouched, waiting for his cleric spells to take effect. "Wow," Pikel murmured, at the same time as a guard at the front door let out a scream.Flame flying balls and huge spears appeared in mid-air and slammed down near the wall.The soldiers broke and fled through the gate; the giant held up a stone slab and stood in front of it defensively. The attack ended in an instant, there was no flame to continue to burn, and there was no obvious damage to the stone building.Still, the soldiers stayed under cover, issuing orders frantically and pointing to various spots on the ridge beyond the gate where the shooter might be hiding. Cadderly nodded to Danica, and she and Shaileen began flanking, slipping from rock to rock.The sleight of hand has apparently worked so far, as few guards seem to be paying attention to the high ground next to the stone wall. The second wave of "bullet screen" created by illusions roared further into the front wall, crossed the main gate, and attracted the enemy's attention to the weakly defended corner where the third wall was planned to be built.As Cadderly expected, the soldiers who had been deployed along the side walls rushed to a more defensive position behind the blocking and thicker front wall. The blast also lasted only a few seconds, but the guards were now in a state of frenzy, huddled together on the battlements and at the base of the walls.Not half an eye was turned to the southwest, not to see the higher ground that this group of companions descended. Danica and Xuelin led everyone all the way to the now empty vertical wall. They walked lightly along its bottom away from the front wall, and then poked their heads out to look at the empty atrium. Cadderly moved to the front of the line, holding up a hand and telling his friends to stay behind.Focusing on the front wall, he probed the constituent particles of the air around him, seeing their essence revealed through the notes of Denir's song.Slowly and subtly, the young priest used the energies of incantations and cleric spells to alter the structure of these particles, bringing them together and making them denser. A thick puff of smoke builds around the front wall and the front half of the unfinished atrium. "Go," Cadderly whispered to Danica, and he motioned for the dwarves to follow, then told Shaylin to position herself where she could see the tower clearly.Without hesitation, the brave monk ran out at full speed, zigzagging across the rough and frozen ground. A sudden thought appeared, and Cadderly took the arrow from Xuelin. "Shoot it up the tower," he instructed, casting a spell on the arrow and returning it to Shaylin. Danica was twenty yards away, halfway to the tower before anyone on the tower noticed her.The three archers raised their bows and were about to shout, when Xuelin's arrow hit one of them firmly in the shoulder.The man fell in a heap; the other two fell into frenzy, opening and closing their mouths wildly, trying to shout warnings to their companions deployed at the front door. Not a sound came from the top of the tower, which was muffled by enchanted arrows. The two remaining enemy archers charged at Danica, but her path was too unpredictable and her movements too swift.Arrows slid away from the frozen ground, or shattered into pieces as they hit the ground, but Danica rolled, swooped, and advanced at a trickier angle than the soldiers expected, never getting close. her body. "Hehehe." Pikel chuckled, and he and Ivan ran far behind the monk, enjoying the sight in front of them very much. Shaylin fired back with deadly accuracy, the arrow piercing between the stones of the jagged low wall, forcing the guards to concentrate on ducking instead of attacking Danica.Still these men tried in vain to cry out to warn their fellows of the dire danger. Vander picked up Xuelin, put her on his broad shoulders, and ran out after the dwarves. Cadderly focused on the front wall again, unleashing another barrage to make sure the soldiers remained in their hiding places.The young priest smiled at his cleverness, and started running after his friend. When Danica reached the base of the tower, the door slammed open, and a swordsman rushed out to face her.Danica, always on high alert, rolled headfirst, sprang up from the inside of the arc his weapon made as it fell, and balled her fist into his jaw, sending him flying.Above Danica, an archer leaned forward, ready to deliver a deadly arrow.Xuelin's arrow was shot before he even drew his bow, and it sank deeply into his collarbone. Another archer, huddled against the corner of a square stone, returned an arrow that hit Vander in the chest, but the arrow did nothing to slow the giant.Roaring, roaring, Vander yanked, pulled out the insignificant arrow, and flung it away. Xuelin, who was now ten feet above the ground, had a much wider attack angle.She smiled coldly and shot another arrow.It slides over square stones, bounces and hits an enemy archer in the eye.The man fell back in pain, obviously screaming, but just like before, no sound came from the enchanted area. The figures of Ivan and Pikel followed Danica into the tower; Cadderly could see the battle going on inside.The young priest ran at full speed, following in Vander's footsteps, but by the time he, the giant Fubao, and the elf girl arrived, the five goblin guards inside the first floor of the tower were dead. Danica squatted in front of the other door across the small room, studying the lock on it.She took the buckle off the belt, straightened it with her teeth, then slid it in gently and began to move it carefully, side to side. "Hurry up," urged Xuelin, who was standing by the door leading outside.From the opposite side of the atrium, the cry of "the enemy is in the tower!" can already be heard.The elven girl shrugged—the deception had been exposed—and leaned out the door, firing an arrow or two now and then to send the enemy back.One quiver was empty, the second was getting lighter, and now she was beginning to regret her decision to fight in the valley. Cadderly grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her in, closing the door behind him.The young priest didn't spend too much effort, using magic to find the basic substance of the wood, causing it to swell and bend, sealing the door tightly.Vander piled the corpses of the dead goblins behind the door as an extra layer of protection, and then everyone's eyes fell back on Danica. "Come on," Xuelin repeated, with increased gravity as something heavy was pounding against the tower's door. Danica grinned at her companions, tucked the makeshift lockpicking tool behind one ear, and pushed the door open, revealing a descending staircase. Cadderly watched the passage curiously. "No guards and no traps?" he said aloud to himself. "There's a trap," Danica corrected.She pointed to a line that ran along the side of a doorjamb strut, held in place by another part of her belt.But they didn't have time to admire the monk's skillful workmanship, for there was another louder crash on the door leading to the outside, and the front end of a battle ax pierced through the wooden door. Ivan and Pikel pushed past Danica and led the way, strolling down the stairs side by side.Vander and Xuelin followed, and the Fubao giant had shrunk himself to human size with his innate magical abilities.Cadderly came next, with Danica in the rear, who turned and turned her lockpicker deftly, locking the door and reactivating the trap. Another door at the bottom of the stairs blocked the way, but the dwarf brothers bowed their heads, clasped arms together, and quickened their pace. "Probably defensive magic!" Cadderly called to them, sensing what they were about to do. But the Stoneshoulders blasted through the door like a gale, a series of fiery explosions trailing behind them as they scrambled through the splintered and smoking logs.Fortunately, the two were able to pass through the doorway quickly enough, because many small darts burst from the doorposts on both sides, still dripping with poison.In the underground passage behind the door, deafening horns echoed—it should be a siren sound set by magic, Cadderly thought so. "What did you just say?" Ivan yelled loudly over the din.Others also came to the lower passage at this moment. "Forget it," was all Cadderly replied.His voice was heavy, even though Pikel was jumping around in front of him, trying desperately to extinguish the wisps of smoke rising from behind his heels.They attacked Sany City with such a small force, the whole intention was to attack the leader of the enemy group by surprise, but now that the horn is sounding and the enemy is constantly attacking the closed door, this goal is obviously impossible achieved. "Hey, cheer up! Have some fun!" Ivan yelled at the obviously worried young priest. "Hold on to my cape, boy! I'll take you wherever you want!" "Whoa!" Pikel chimed in, and the two brothers ran off with a ping-pong.Before they had even turned the first turn they came upon the enemy, and they slashed through the amazed goblins, killing them and fleeing. "Where are you going?" Ivan called over his shoulder, the question followed by a groan of pain as he slammed his massive battle ax into the back of a goblin who was a second too slow to turn and run away. middle.Behind the dead goblin was a torchlit corridor showing several doors and at least two branching tunnels. All looked to Cadderly, but the young priest shrugged helplessly, unable to provide an immediate answer in the sudden confusion.There was a series of explosions in the distance behind them, and Cadderly knew the enemy had breached the second door—and had failed to disarm the trap. Ivan kicked open the nearest door, revealing a huge room filled with a large group of human archers, and a group of giants who were setting up catapults. "Not this way!" explained the rude dwarf, closing the door quickly and continuing to run. In the ensuing run, Cadderly lost all sense of direction.They passed many gates, made many turns, and struck down many astonished enemies in succession.Before long, they came to an area with more elaborate tunnels, with mysterious ancient scripts and embossed symbols of Talona's teardrop on the stone walls. Cadderly looked to Vander, hoping that the Fubo giant might recognize some landmark, but Vander couldn't be sure. A shock of electricity bounced Pikel back through the next door.With a growl, Ivan shouldered the door open and burst into yet another long, narrow corridor, this time with tapestries depicting the Poison Goddess on display.She was smiling evilly, as if she saw the intruders clearly.Quickly recovering, Pikel - whose green beard was flying free from the tight braids - immediately joined his brother. After running twenty steps inside, the group of companions was surrounded by a sphere of complete darkness. "Keep going!" Shaylin urged the dwarves, as she detected enemies approaching from behind through her keen elf hearing. Cadderly felt the air vibrate next to his cheek as the elf shot an arrow into the air.But he didn't pay much attention to Xuelin's actions, because he was struggling with the shoulder straps of his backpack, trying to find his light tube, or wand, to fight against this magically created darkness. Danica clearly felt the young priest stop, and grabbed his arm and pulled him away—very lightly so as not to interfere with his movements. There was a loud click, a scrape of stones against each other, followed by a fading "ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." "Domin Illu!" cried Cadderly, raising his wand, and the darkness vanished.Cadderly stood ready for battle with his wand, Shaylene drew her bow, and Danica and Vander crouched in similar defensive positions, moving cautiously along the walls. But Ivan and Pikel were gone. "Floor trap!" Danica called, noticing tiny lines in the ground ahead. "Ivan!" There was no response, and Danica could find no obvious way to open the tight door, no crank or handle in sight. "Keep going!" Xuelin yelled suddenly, pulling Cadderly past her, and drawing the bow.The enemy soldiers had reached their rear door, within fifty feet of them. Danica leaped over the trap-filled terrain; Vander reverted to giant form and strode across, Cadderly behind him. "Close your eyes," the young priest whispered to his friends, then stretched his wand back toward the door, and pronounced "Mas Ilu!" A burst of intense light burst out, green, orange, and All the colors in the spectrum burst into countless dazzling flashes. The magic was cast in no time, and the soldiers covered their eyes and staggered and stumbled around the bottom of the corridor. "Keep going!" Xuelin said again, firing two more arrows into the bewildered and chaotic pile of enemies.The other three started to move towards the door at the other end of the corridor, telling Xuelin to follow quickly. When the elven girl turned to follow her friends, they realized that she, too, had been affected by Cadderly's magical flash.Her once-clear violet eyes were now bloodshot and red as she walked slowly down the corridor, trying to discern when to jump. "We're going to get you!" Danica yelled, but Xuelin was already dancing.As she landed, her heels touched the edge of the trap door in the floor, and the trap door swung open, and she held on to the brink of falling for a moment that felt like an eternity. Vander threw himself forward, stretched out on the floor, clutching desperately.He only caught air as Xuelin fell back into the hole, the wicked door slamming shut behind her. Danica was beside Volbol, tugging at his sleeve, and Cadderly was beside her, wand raised again. "Mas Illu," he said again, his voice trailing off, and the flash hit the recovering soldiers again.This time many soldiers thought of closing their eyes, and although their sprints slowed down slightly, they did not stop. Vander led the charge toward the far door, and nearly reached it, when a ten-foot-wide section of the corridor suddenly moved, flipping a full circle about the diagonal of its original position.The surprised Volbo fell sideways, fell into the suddenly sloping wall and floor, and the corner of the trap area rotated on the base axis, and the Volbo disappeared. Danica hopped over the sloping section of the corridor and kicked the door hard, breaking the locking mechanism.The door creaked open in Danica's direction, just an inch wide, and the monk grabbed it and yanked, as if to trigger another trap to go into motion. A stunned Cadderly came beside her, still looking back at the ground into which the three friends had fallen and vanished, and the wall that had taken the Volbolt from him. Danica grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door—a short passage this time, without any tapestries on the walls, and ended a dozen feet away with another door.As soon as they passed the threshold, a thick slab of stone fell behind them, blocking any possible escape, while a portcullis was lowered at the door ahead of them, barring the way.They knew immediately, of course, that they had fallen into a trap, but they didn't know how dangerous they were, until after a while Danica noticed the side walls of the small passage approaching.